Is it common for Goodwill to accept donations and then immediately throw them away?
This happened to me at a Goodwill store in Rockland County, NY, over a year ago, and I’m genuinely curious if this is common. I’m not complaining. I just found it really strange and wanted to understand how it works.
I went to the store to donate a bag of clothes and a small disassembled round table. The table was just the table, no chairs. Before donating it, I specifically asked the employees if they accepted tables, and they said yes. So I gave it to them and left.
Well, I ended up parking in the back of the store, near the dumpsters, because I wanted to check something on my phone before leaving. I stayed there for a little while, and then I saw the employees bring the table I had just donated to the dumpster and throw it away.
I was honestly confused. 😅
If they didn’t want the table or couldn’t sell it, that’s completely fine. I wish they had told me when I asked if they accepted it. I would have happily taken it back and tried to give it to someone who actually needed a table instead of having it go straight into the garbage.
Is this something Goodwill commonly does? Do they sometimes accept items and then immediately discard them for some reason?